Apparatus for installing hammers in musical instrument

ABSTRACT

An apparatus for installing string-striking hammers in a musical instrument, such as piano, has a lower bar for aligning hammer tail sections of hammers being installed. The lower bar is releasably connected to a portion of the musical instrument being repaired. An upper bar is movable with respect to the lower bar and provides guide means for aligning hammers in proper angular position to insure proper striking of the strings. The lower bar carries guide elements having means for guiding the hammer being installed into proper angular position to insure that the hammer, when moved in the course of playing the instrument, travels in a correct path to reach the string and strikes it in a predetermined fashion at a precise point necessary to produce the desired sound.

3,841,191 [451 Oct. 15,1974

United'States Patent [1 1 Jaras APPARATUS FOR INSTALLING HAMMERS IN MUSICAL INSTRUMENT ABSTRACT An apparatus forinstalling string-striking hammers in e V A h t 8 0 W4 1 3 7 49 S4 mm; J y 9 3 m. m2 m.. nep AKA O m d w h .m m.. l l 6 2 7 2 l a musical instrument. such as piano, has a lower bar for aligning hammer tail sections of hammers being installed. The lower bar is releasably connected to a 211 Appl. No.: 463,404

portion of the musical instrument being repaired. An upper bar is movable with respect to the lower bar and provides guide means for aligning hammers in proper angular position to insure proper striking of the strings. The lower bar carries guide elements having means for guiding the-hammer being installed into proper angular position to insure that the hammer, when moved in the course of playing the instrument, travels in a correct path to reach the string and strikes it in a predetermined fashion at a precise point necessary to produce the desired sound.

9 mu G 2 l 5 S 4 T 8 n 3 N a a m M M wA M 8 NF mm E mm mm mT n. C t "h e R M E m& H mi N G U .M e MP 1]] .1 2 8 6 555 5 Primary Examiner-Richard B. Wilkinson Assistant ExaminerJohn F. Gonzales 8 Claims, 2 Drawing Figures Attorney, Agent, or Firm Algird R. Ostis 1. Field of the invention This invention relates to an. apparatus for installing hammers in a musical instrument and, more particulady, to an apparatus forinstalling and aligning stringstriking hammers which are actuated by operation of piano keys, or the like.

v 2; The Prior Art In a musical instrument, such as a piano or the like, the fingers of a player depress the keys which are connected to hammers inside the instrument. When keys are depressed, the hammers are moved to strike the appropriate strings thereby producingthe desired sound. It is critical relative to the production of desired sound that the hammer hit the string at a precise point and that thestriking contact with the string be made by a specific point on the circumference of the hammer. To achieve the above conditions, the hammers must be aligned very precisely with respect to the strings they are to hit. 1

When hammers become worn out, their replacement becomes necessary. Heretofore, installation and alignment of replacement hammers has been very time consuming due to large number of measurements which had to be taken relative to each hammer before satisfactory alignment could be achieved. The present invention overcomes the disadvantages heretofore experienced in the art and allows piano technicians, including sightless, to install piano hammers with an unprecedented precision in a fraction of the time required prior tothe invention hereof.

' SUMMARY OF THE I VENTION The present invention overcomes the disadvantages of the prior, art byproviding an apparatus for fast and precise installation-ofstring-striking hammers in a pi- 1 ano, or the likeThe apparatus has an adjustable lower bar for aligning tail sections of hammers being installed and for carrying guide elements having means for; establishing proper angular position of a hammer for striking the desired string. An upper bar, movable with respect tothe lower bar, supplements one of the guide functionsof the guide element.

I DRAWING cated at both ends thereof, the elements located atone end being substantially identical to' their respective counterparts at th'e other end of the structure. Accordingly, where there are two or more substantially identical elements performing similar functionsfla detailed description of only one of such elements will be given -2 herein with the understanding that there may be more than one such element included in the apparatus.

The apparatus comprises a pair of vertical support members or legs 12, each of which occupies a similar position at a respective end of the structure. The leg 12 has a lock 14 which locks the height of the leg in place after desired height has been set by the user of the apparatus. Each of the legs 12 supports a horizontal bracketl6 located above theleg and movablein a vertical 'direction The bracket 16 has a lock screw 18 mounted thereon which extends through a slot 20 in a horizontal holder 22 and a slot 24 in a first, or lower,

bar 26 the end of which is sandwiched between thehorizontal bracket 16 and the horizontal holder 22. The

bar 26 may'also be referred to as a hammer tailalignment bar.

As can be readily seen in the drawing, the lock screw 18 controls longitudinal movement of the bar 26. The bar 26 is releasably connected to a pair of identical attachment bars 28 which, in'turn are secured by books 30 to a shank rail 101 (shown in phantom) of a piano, or the like. The attachment bar 28 has an elongated slot 32 which receives a pair of knobs 34 and 36. The knob 34 locks the lower bar 26 to the attachment bar 28 while the knob 36 in an adjustment knob for the hook 30. A spring 38 is interposed netween the hook 30 and the bar 28, as shown, for the ease of attachment of the hooks to the shank rail.

A dual-function guide element 40, having a base 42,

.isslidably mounted on the lower bar 26 for movement 'therealong, as explained in greater detail later. The base 42 has a vertical plate 44 secured to one edge thereof in parallel relationship to the bar 26, said plate being a guide for establishing the correct path of travel for a hammer 102 in the musical instrument when the hammer is moved toward a string (not shown) for striking the same at a predetermined point so as to produce the desired sound. A slot 46, the function of which is explained later, is formed in the top of the plate 44.

ference'of the hammer 102, said striking point contacting the string of the musical instrument to desired sound.

A vertical member 54 is secured to a side of the base produce the I 42, as illustrated. Slidably mounted on said member 54 there is a main striking-point guide housing 56 having horizontal arm 58 adjustably slidable therethrough. A vertically oriented locking screw 60 extends into the main housing 56 to engage the arm 58 and to lock it in a desired position. A locking screw 62 secures the main housing 56 to the member 54 when desired height has been achieved.

Mounted 'on one end of the arm '58, there isa pin housing 64 which carries a movable pin 66 adapted to contactingly engage thehamr'ner 102 in determining the striking pointon the circumference thereof for striking the piano stringtherewith. The pin 66 may be secured in position by screw 68 or the like.

A second, or upper, bar 70 providing a guide for alignment of hammer striking points, as later more fully each of which is positioned on movable horizontal holder 22 heretoforedescribed. A vertical adjustment of the bar 70 is accomplished by sliding the bar on posts 72 and locking it thereto by operating the knobs 74.

In the exemplary operation, the apparatus, when placed in a piano where hammers are to be replaced, will span at least one section of the existing hammers. On mostpianos the apparatus will span two first treble sections at 'once.

The replacement hammers are prepared for installation in a manner known in the art.

The hammers to be replaced are removed leaving two old hammers in the section being worked on as sample hammers. The second hammer from the beginning of the section and the hammer which isnext to the last hammer in the section are retained as sample hammers. All shanks 103, including the shanks carrying the sample hammers are lifted up into a vertical standing position.

The attachment bars 28 are placed against the shank rail 101 hooking the spring-loaded hooks 30 at each end of the section in whichhammers are to be replaced. When the apparatus spans-th'e first two treble sections, as mentioned above, it is necessary to retain only two old hammers as sample hammers, that is, the second hammer of the first section and the next-to-last hammer of the second treble section.

The legs 12 of the apparatus are adjusted to equal height and a slight downward slope is formed by the attachment bars 28 from the shank rail 101 toward the lower bar 26.

Following the above, the user installs the hammers, one at each end of a section being worked on, said installation being temporary in nature so that these hammers are free from adhesive attachment to their respective shanks with each shank being placed flushly through a shank receiving aperture in the hammer. The lower, or tail alignment bar 26, is moved to contact the two temporarily installed hammers, and the bar 26 is locked in position by operation of the knobs 34. The locked position is maintained until all remaining hammers have been installed inthe' section. When the bar 26 is in the locked position, the sample hammers retained in the section-are moved down'on the bar 26 from their vertical standing position while the temporarily installed hammers are removed from their shanks and the shanks are lifted up into standing position.

The plate 44 of the path-of-travel guide is moved to a position near the first sample hammer and locked there by operation of the vertical lock 50. In order to accomplish fine adjustment of the pin 66, the screw 68 is released and the pin is slidably moved to a position near the sample hammer. This fine adjustment of the pin does notfalter the hammer striking-point position.

Tobe certain that the path-of-travel guide is in correct vertical position, while working in the treble section, one must release the screws 48, 60, and 62 and place the arm 58-into the slot 46 for positioning. Afterward, the screw 48 is tightened again. When the work is being performed with. tenor or bass hammers which are found to be leaning and thus are angularly displaced from their proper attitude, the plate 44 of the path-of-travel guide must be adjusted so thatits angle corresponds to the angle of the sample hammer in that particular section. Once the plate 44 attains said angle the correct angle can be formed with each of the hammers by placing the hammers against the plate 44.

The pin 66 is positioned exactly at the molding point 104 of the sample hammer and screws 60 and 62 are tightened. These screws maybe released only after the first new hammer has been installed in the section.

To install the first new hammer permanently, the path-of-travel guide is moved near the first hammer which previously has been placed on the shank. The vertical lock is tightened. Adhesive is placed in the shank receiving apertureof the hammer. While adhesive is still wet, the hammer is pushed onto the shank until the hammer touches the bar 26. The hammer is positioned so that its molding point or vertical center is in line with the pin 66 which has been preset to the angular position of the sample hammer described heretofore. The hammer is pressed by installers fingers to the edge of the plate 44 to thereby set the correct pathof-travel position of the hammer.

Having installed the replacement hammer at one end of the section, the above procedure can be repeated for installation of a second replacement hammer at the other end of the section.

When both hammers have been installed, the striking-point guide housing 56 can be removed from the apparatus together with the arm 58, the pin housing 64 and the pin 66 since the upper bar 70, also known as the hammer striking-point guide bar, may be substituted in function for the striking-point guide. In operation, the screw 18 and the knob 74 are released and the bar 70 is adjustably-moved until it touches the widest point on the circumference of the first hammer, as illustrated at 105 in FIG. 1. Subsequently, the bar is adjusted to contact the widest point on the circumference of the second hammer installed near the opposite end of the piano section while maintaining contact with the first hammer. Once these contacts have been achieved, the screw 18 and the knob 74 are tightened to maintain the bar in position. The installation of additional hammers may proceed from the left side of the piano section after one additional hammer has been installed at the right side of the section next to said second hammer. Theinstallation of hammers utilizes bar 70 in place of pin 66 and its related guide equipment. Adhesive is applied to the shank receiving aperture in the hammer. While the adhesive is still wet, the hammer is pushed onto the shank by hand until lower portion of in a musical instrument, such as piano or the like, comprising:

a. an adjustable support member;

b. a first movable bar connected to said support member and having means for releasable attachment to a portion of the musical instrument;

c. a second movable bar connected to said first bar by connecting means;

d. said first and second bars being movable with respect to one another;

e. a guide element slidably mounted on said first bar portion of said hammer.

and having: 1 5. An apparatus as defined in claim 4, wherein said i. a plate for contacting the hammer being installed means includes a vertical plate.

to provide a guide for placing said hammer in po- 6. An apparatus as defined in claim 4, wherein said sition to strike a predetermined point on the 5 means includes a movable pin. string of the musical instrument; 7. An apparatus as defined in claim 6, wherein said ii. a pin for contacting said hammer and providing pin is slidably carried in a pin housing connected. to a a guide for locating said hammer in position to slidable arm adjustably received in a guide housing slidstrike said string with a predetermined portionof ably secured to a vertical member.

said hammer. 10 8. An apparatus forinstalling string-striking hammers 2. An apparatus as defined in claim 1, wherein said in a musical instrument, such as piano or the like, comfirst bar is a lower bar. prising:

3. An apparatus as defined in claim -1, wherein said a. a pair of adjustable legs; second bar is an upper bar. b. a movable bar having means for attachment to the 4. An apparatus for installing string-striking hammers instrument; I in a musical instrument, such as piano or the like, comc. a guide element carried by said bar and slidable prising: thereon including:

a. a support member; i. a path-of-travel guide comprising an adjustable b. a movable bar connected to said support member vertical plate secured to a side of said element;

, and being movable in vertical and horizontal directions; ii. a striking-point guide comprising a vertical c. guide means slidably mounted on said bar for conmember having a guide housing mounted tacting the hammer being installed in the instruthereon, said housing supporting a movable arm ment and providing a guide for locating said hamconnected to a pin housing at one end, said pin mer in position to strike a predetermined point on housing holding a pin adjustably slidable therein.

the string of said instrument with a predetermined 

1. An apparatus for installing string-striking hammers in a musical instrument, such as piano or the like, comprising: a. an adjustable support member; b. a first movable bar connected to said support member and having means for releasable attachment to a portion of the musical instrument; c. a second movable bar connected to said first bar by connecting means; d. said first and second bars being movable with respect to one another; e. a guide element slidably mounted on said first bar and having: i. a plate for contacting the hammer being installed to provide a guide for placing said hammer in position to strike a predetermined point on the string of the musical instrument; ii. a pin for contacting said hammer and providing a guide for locating said hammer in position to strike said string with a predetermined portion of said hammer.
 2. An apparatus as defined in claim 1, wherein said first bar is a lower bar.
 3. An apparatus as defined in claim 1, wherein said second bar is an upper bar.
 4. An apparatus for installing string-striking hammers in a musical instrument, such as piano or the like, comprising: a. a support member; b. a movable bar connected to said support member and being movable in vertical and horizontal directions; c. guide means slidably mounted on said bar for contacting the hammer being installed in the instrument and providing a guide for locating said hammer in position to strike a predetermined point on the string of said instrument with a predetermined portion of said hammer.
 5. An apparatus as defined in claim 4, wherein said means includes a vertical plate.
 6. An apparatus as defined in claim 4, wherein said means includes a movable pin.
 7. An apparatus as defined in claim 6, wherein said pin is slidably carried in a pin housing connected to a slidable arm adjustably received in a guide housing slidably secured to a vertical member.
 8. An apparatus for installing string-striking hammers in a musical instrument, such as piano or the like, comprising: a. a pair of adjustable legs; b. a movable bar having means for attachment to the instrument; c. a guide element carried by said bar and sliDable thereon including: i. a path-of-travel guide comprising an adjustable vertical plate secured to a side of said element; ii. a striking-point guide comprising a vertical member having a guide housing mounted thereon, said housing supporting a movable arm connected to a pin housing at one end, said pin housing holding a pin adjustably slidable therein. 